The perspectives of adolescents conceived using surrogacy, egg or sperm donation

Abstract

STUDY QUESTIONWhat are the perspectives of adolescents conceived using surrogacy, egg or sperm donation regarding their conception and the third party involved?SUMMARY ANSWERThe majority of adolescents described feeling indifferent about their conception, and yet simultaneously reported an interest in the third party involved, or were in contact with them.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYThere is an assumption that children conceived through reproductive donation will feel negatively about their origins in adolescence. However, little is known about the views of adolescents who have been conceived through different types of reproductive donation.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONForty-four adolescents, all of whom had been told about their conception in childhood, participated in a semi-structured interview as part of the sixth phase of a longitudinal, multi-method, multi-informant study of assisted reproduction families in the UK.PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODSAll adolescents were aged 14 years, had been conceived using surrogacy (n = 22), egg donation (n = 13) or sperm donation (n = 9) to heterosexual couples, and varied in terms of their information about, and contact with, the third party involved in their conception. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in participants’ homes. Interviews were analysed qualitatively to determine adolescents’ perceptions of their conception, and their thoughts and feelings about the surrogate or donor involved.MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCEAdolescents were found to feel positive (n = 7), indifferent (n = 32) or ambivalent (n = 5) about their conception. Amongst adolescents not in contact with the surrogate or donor, most were interested (n = 16) in the surrogate or donor, and others were ambivalent (n = 4), or not interested (n = 6) in them. Adolescents in contact with the surrogate or donor expressed positive (n = 14), ambivalent (n = 1) or negative (n = 1) feelings about them.LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTIONOf 56 adolescents invited to take part in the study, 47 consented to take part, giving a response rate of 84%. It was not possible to obtain information from adolescents who do not know about their conception.WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGSThe findings contradict the assumption that children conceived through reproductive donation will feel negatively about their origins in adolescence and suggest that it may be helpful to draw a distinction between adolescents’ feelings about their conception in general, and their feelings about the surrogate or donor in particular.STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)This study was funded by the Wellcome Trust [097857/Z/11/Z]. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Parents' relationship with their surrogate in cross-border and domestic surrogacy arrangements: comparisons by sexual orientation and location

“…Indeed, data from the larger study from which this sample is drawn found that intending parents were considering surrogacy in countries such as Georgia and Ukraine, where they may also face similar communication difficulties with the surrogate (16). Lack of contact might lead to stronger relationships within the family unit because the involvement of the surrogate would not interfere in parent–child relationships (17); however, it is also possible that the child might be curious about their surrogate or want to meet her in the future (18), which would be particularly difficult in cases in which the surrogate was anonymous to the parents.…”

“…Children aged 4–12 years born through surrogacy to Italian gay couples have been reported to feel indifferent/uninterested in their birth and to show more interest in their surrogate than their egg donor (6). Adolescents born using surrogacy have been reported to feel either positive or indifferent about their surrogacy birth at age 14 years (18). However, this latter study found that approximately half of the adolescents who had no contact with their surrogate were interested in her, with the remainder being uninterested.…”

Attitudes among paediatric healthcare professionals in Sweden towards sperm donation to single women: a survey study

“…However, they might sometimes be unwilling to disclose this piece of information to their surrounding social network and instead use selfshielding strategies, encouraged also by staff at the fertility clinic [14]. Research has shown that the starting point of talking about the sperm donation treatment often was catalysed by the child's questions about why he/she did not have a father as other children have [16]. Published children's books targeting the lay audience and aiming to explain to children about conception by gamete donation (eggs or sperm) are available in several languages, including English and in Swedish.…”

The role of professional facilitators in cross-border assisted reproduction

“…Further engagement with facilitators and service providers of CBRC arguably presents a valuable source of expertise from which national and cross-border responsive regulatory frameworks could be informed in the future. Such hands-on experience could be well utilized if placed within a broader evidence-based framework, including the evolving social science research on outcomes for children in surrogacy and donor conception ( Blake et al, 2014 , Jadva et al, 2012 , Ilioi and Golombok, 2015 ), egg donor experiences ( Almeling, 2011 , Almeling, 2014 ), and information needs and expectations of parties in donor conception ( Persaud et al, 2017 , Zadeh et al, 2018 ).…”